Reproductive biology is a necessary element for the management of elasmobranch fisheries. Traditionally, characterization of elasmobranch reproduction has involved lethal sampling to examine gross reproductive structures and development of embryos. However, this method is counterproductive to the conservation of shark populations. One non-lethal alternative is the measurement of serum hormones, which often vary according to reproductive events. Radioimmunoassay (RIA) has been used to measure hormone concentrations in reproductive endocrinology, but can be problematic for researchers. Alternatively, chemiluminescence immunoassays (CLIA) are routinely used for measuring circulating hormone concentrations in low-volume, non-extracted human serum samples. However these assays have not been previously examined for use with elasmobranch blood. In the first component of this study, I examined whether CLIA was a suitable alternative for detecting seasonal profiles of these hormones in the bonnethead, Sphyrna tiburo. This was accomplished by collecting serum from sexually mature male (n = 35) and female (n = 32) bonnetheads , measuring reproductive organs for maturity and reproductive stage, and measuring concentrations of testosterone (T) in males, and 17β-estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P4) in females using RIA and CLIA. CLIA was successfully validated for use with shark serum by assessing parallelism and spike recovery. CLIA-derived measurements were significantly correlated with those obtained with RIA (r = 0.809, 0.773, and 0.908 for T, E2, and P4, respectively; p

Orientador: Otto Bismarck Fazzano Gadig / Resumo: A raia elétrica cega Benthobatis kreffti é endêmica do Altântico Sul Ociedental e apresenta distribuição restrita desde o sul até o sudeste Brasileiros, ocorrendo em profundidades entre 400 e 600 m. Apesar de seu extremo endemismo, sua biologia é virtualmente desconhecida, especialmente no que diz respeito à porção norte de sua distribuição. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a estrutura populacional e biologia reprodutiva desta espécie, no talude continental do estado de São Paulo. Os indivíduos foram capturados em julho e agosto de 2003 e dezembro de 2007 no cruzeiro científico Soloncy Moura, o qual operou em 492-501 m de profundidade entre os municípios de Santos e Cananéia. Quanto à composição de captura, B. kreffti foi o condricte mais capturado, seguido por Gurgesiella dorsalifera. Os demais foram Hydrolagus matallanasi, Dipturus sp. e Torpedo, sp. Quanto à estrutura em tamanho, fêmeas diferem de machos por apresentarem maiores comprimentos (máximo de 299 mm em fêmeas e 256 mm em machos). A razão sexual total foi diferente de 1:1, bem como para indivíduos adultos. Nos outros estágios de maturidade considerados (imaturo e em desenvolvimento), não houve diferença significativa. A relação comprimento-peso e o tamanho onde 50% da população encontra-se maduro (LT50) também foram diferentes entre os sexos, em favor das fêmeas. Fêmeas apresentaram LT50 de 191 mm enquanto machos maturam em 176 mm. A fecundidade uterina foi de três embriões por fêmea, com embriões nascendo en... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The blind electric ray Benthobatis kreffti is endemic to the South West Atlantic and has a restricted distribution, from south and southeast Brazil, occurring in 400-600 m depth. Despite its endemism, its biology is virtually unknown, especially concerning the north extreme of its distribution. For this reason, the aim of this work was to study the population structure and reproductive biology of B. kreffti off São Paulo State continental slope. Individuals were captured in July and August of 2003 and December 2007 during the scientific cruise Soloncy Moura, operating in 492-501 m depth between Santos and Cananéia municipalities. Benthobatis kreffti was the most captured chondrichthyan, followed by Gurgesiella dorsalifera. Other chondrichthyan captured were: Hydrolagus matallanasi, Dipturus sp and Torpedo sp.. Concerning size structure, females were larger than males (females: 299 mm; males: 256 mm total length). Total sex ratio was different from 1:1, as well as for adult individuals. At other maturity stages considered (immature and developing), no differences were observed. The length-weight relationship and size at 50 % maturity (LT50) were also different between sexes, biased toward females. Female´s LT50 was 191 mm, while in males, LT50 was 176 mm total length. Uterine fecundity was three embryos/ female, with size at birth estimated in 90-100 mm total length (about1/3 of the total length recorded for this species). / Mestre

Dès sa première apparition dans le recueil de conférences intitulé Le Temps et l’Autre, la notion du féminin mobilisée par Levinas a provoqué un débat interprétatif qui perdure jusqu’à aujourd'hui. Les lectures ont oscillé entre une assimilation du féminin au schème d’une pensée patriarcale dont la philosophie peine à sortir et une compréhension qui vise à justifier son usage en tant qu’autre de la pensée souvent jugée trop virile. Les travaux qui se situent dans cette deuxième veine interprétative cherchent également à complexifier le tableau en faisant appel non seulement à la philosophie de Levinas, mais également à son judaïsme. Dans cette lignée, la présente étude vise une réhabilitation du féminin en l’inscrivant dans l’économie générale de l’œuvre de Levinas. De la relation érotique (Chapitre I : Le rapport érotique), en passant par les mécanismes de constitution de la conscience (Chapitre II : Topologie de l’effacement : subjectivité et discrétion) et jusqu’au messianisme maternel (Chapitre III : Maternité, fécondité et avenir), la notion du féminin sera suivie au fil d’un itinéraire qui scrutera ses diverses transformations, pour finalement converger vers une conception de la subjectivité résolument « féminine ». / As early as its first appearance in the cycle of conferences titled Le Temps et l’Autre, the notion of the feminine discussed by Levinas has provoked an interpretative debate that goes on to this day. The different readings have vacillated between an assimilation of the feminine to the scheme of a patriarchal thought from which philosophy has a hard time freeing itself and a hermeneutics that justifies its use as the other of thought often judged to be too virile. The works that situate themselves in this second interpretative line of thought also seek to paint a more complex picture by calling not only on Levinas’s philosophy, but also on his Judaism. Following this second line, the present study aims to rehabilitate the feminine by inscribing it in the general economy of Levinas’s work. From the erotic relationship (Chapitre I : Le rapport érotique), via the mechanisms of the constitution of conscience (Chapitre II : Topologie de l’effacement : subjectivité et discrétion), to maternal messianism (Chapitre III : Maternité, fécondité et avenir), the notion of the feminine will be followed through an itinerary scrutinizing its many transformations to finally converge on a conception of subjectivity that is resolutely “feminine”.

La thèse analyse les représentations du mythe de Cérès, déesse romaine de l’agriculture et le faisceau d’idées qu’il concentre dans l’imaginaire collectif de la première modernité, le choix a été fait d’étudier sa représentation dans des contextes géographiques différents, selon un axe chronologique allant de ses premières résurgences dans l’art et la littérature du XVe siècle, où se cristallisent en Italie la plupart des significations allégoriques et symboliques qui lui sont associées, à la première moitié du XVIIe siècle lorsque s’annoncent les prémices d’un changement de paradigme et, surtout, se confirment les effets de la Contre-Réforme et du Concile de Trente sur les œuvres à thématique païenne. Des œuvres réalisées sur différents supports (tableau, fresque, gravure, manuscrit, incunable, objet du mobilier, médailles) seront ainsi convoquées et interrogées à l’aune des sources littéraires employées par les artistes et de leur contexte de production. Le corpus analysé se divise en trois parties qui correspondent aux grandes thématiques abordées dans la thèse : l’abondance, la fertilité, ainsi que les relations entre Cérès et le christianisme. Les deux premiers thèmes relatifs à la prospérité et à la fécondité reprennent les principales propriétés attribuées à Déméter-Cérès depuis l’Antiquité, tandis que le troisième thème s’attache à retracer les rapports entre la tradition figurative que l’on nommera « démétriaque » et l’imaginaire chrétienne, à travers l'étude d'œuvres qui, dans certains cas, ont été produites par le même artiste. / This thesis analyses the representations of the myth of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, and the bundle of ideas it concentrates in the collective imagination of early modernity. In different geographical contexts, the representations of the myth are investigated along a chronological axis ranging from the first revivals in art and literature in the 15th century - when most of the allegorical and symbolic meanings associated with it crystallize in Italy - to the first half of the 17th century, when the first signs of a paradigm shift began to appear and, above all, the effects of the Counter-Reformation and the Council of Trent on works with pagan themes were confirmed. Works of various kinds (paintings, frescoes, engravings, manuscripts, incunabula, ornaments, and medals) will be examined considering the literary sources used by the artists and the context in which they were produced. The corpus analyzed is divided into three parts, which correspond to the major themes addressed in the thesis: abundance, fertility and the relationship between Ceres and Christianity. The first two themes, abundance, and fertility, concern the main properties attributed to Demeter-Ceras since antiquity, while the third theme focuses on the relationship between the figurative tradition we will call 'demetriac' and Christian figurative imagery, through the study of works that, in some cases, were produced by the same artist.

Bumblebees have undergone dramatic declines both in Britain and further afield during the last century. Bumblebees provide a crucial pollination service to both crops and wild flowers. For these reasons, they have received a great deal of research attention over the years. However, the ecology of wild bumblebee nests and the interactions between nests and other species, particularly vertebrates has been somewhat understudied. This is largely due to the difficulty in finding sufficient nests for well replicated study and a lack of appropriate methods of observation. Here, methods for locating bumblebee nests were trialled. It was found that a specially trained bumblebee nest detection dog did not discover nests any faster than people who had received minimal instruction. Numbers of nest site searching queens provide a reliable indication of suitable nesting habitat (i.e. places where nests are more likely to be found). In order to investigate aspects of bumblebee nesting ecology wild nests were observed by filming or regular observations by either researchers or members of the public. Some buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) nests were collected and all the bumblebees were genotyped to identify any foreign individuals. A review of British mammalian dietary literature was conducted to identify those that predate bumblebees. Great tits (Parus major) were filmed predating bumblebees at nests and it was clear from the literature and observations that badger (Meles meles), pine martens (Martes martes) and hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) predate bumblebee nests, as well as the wax moth (Aphomia sociella). No evidence for predation by any other vertebrate species was found. Behaviours recorded included parasitism by Psithyrus, apparent nectar theft and possible usurpation by true bumblebees, egg-dumping by foreign queens and drifting and drifter reproduction by foreign workers. These events may cause harm to colonies (for example, through horizontal transmission of pathogens, or exploitation of the host nest’s resources). Alternatively where for example, usurpation by true bumblebees, egg-dumping or drifting is successful, these alternative reproductive strategies may increase the effective population size by enabling a single nest to produce reproductives of more than one breeding female. These data found that wild buff-tailed bumblebees (B. terrestris) nests with a greater proportion of workers infected with Crithidia bombi were less likely to produce gynes than those with fewer infected workers. Gyne production also varied dramatically between years. There is a growing body of evidence that a class of frequently used insecticides called neonicotinoids are negatively impacting bumblebees. An experiment was conducted using commercial colonies of buff-tailed bumblebees (B. terrestris) which were fed pollen and nectar which had been treated with the neonicotinoid imidacloprid at field realistic, sub-lethal levels. Treated colonies, produced 85-90% fewer gynes than control colonies. If this trend is representative of natural nests feeding on treated crops, for example, oilseed rape and field beans or garden flowers, then this would be expected to cause dramatic population declines. In this thesis methods for locating bumblebee nests have been tested, new behaviours have been identified (for example, egg-dumping by queens and predation by great tits) and estimations for rates of fecundity and destruction by various factors have been provided. Doubt has been cast over the status of some mammals as predators of bumblebee nests and estimates for gyne production, nest longevity, etc, have been given. More work is needed, especially observations of incipient nests as this is when the greatest losses are thought to occur.

Cette thèse porte sur l’évaluation de l’impact de certains composés environnementaux sur la fécondité féminine, tel que mesuré par le délai de conception (« time to pregnancy » en anglais, ou TTP). Cette recherche a été réalisée dans le cadre de l’Étude mère-enfant sur les composés chimiques de l’environnement (MIREC), une cohorte de grossesse de 2001 femmes recrutées durant le premier trimestre dans dix villes canadiennes de 2008 à 2011. Les données des questionnaires et les échantillons biologiques ont servi à évaluer l’effet de deux groupes de composés : les persistants [composés perfluorés – perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) et perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS)] et les non persistants (bisphénol A, triclosan et phtalates). Cette thèse comprend également une analyse du potentiel du ratio index-annulaire (2D:4D) comme mesure de sensibilité endocrinienne. À ce jour, des mesures anthropométriques ont été collectées sur environ 800 mères-enfants dans le cadre de l’Étude mère-enfant sur les composés chimiques de l’environnement : biomonitoring et neurodéveloppement à la petite enfance (MIREC CD Plus), un suivi de la cohorte MIREC portant sur la croissance et le développement des enfants jusqu’à 5 ans. Sur l’ensemble, les résultats de cette thèse permettent d’étoffer les preuves concernant les effets adverses potentiels de plusieurs contaminants environnementaux sur la fécondité féminine, telle que mesurée par le TTP. Dans le premier article, nous avons montré une association entre les PFOA et les PFHxS et une baisse de fécondité, ce que d’autres recherches avaient déjà révélé. Dans le deuxième article, nous avons évalué l’effet du triclosan sur le TTP, ce qui n’avait jamais été examiné, pour montrer un délai plus élevé chez les femmes du quartile supérieur d’exposition. De plus, nos résultats sont en accord avec ceux de la seule étude ayant évalué l’effet du Bisphénol A sur la fécondité féminine, qui n’avait pas détecté d’effet. Finalement, nos données semblent indiquer une association entre l’exposition des femmes aux phtalates et un TTP plus court, mais ces résultats ne sont pas statistiquement significatifs. En ce qui a trait au potentiel du ratio index-annuaire (2D:4D) pour mesurer la sensibilité endocrinienne chez les femmes, nos données ne permettent pas d’établir une association entre ce ratio et le TTP. Pour ce qui est des enfants, nous n’avons pas trouvé d’effet adverse entre le tabagisme de la mère durant la grossesse et leur ratio 2D:4D. Par conséquent, nos données ne semblent pas justifier l’utilisation du ratio 2D:4D pour mesurer la sensibilité endocrinienne en lien avec le potentiel reproducteur (basé sur le TTP) ou l’exposition des enfants au tabac durant le premier trimestre de grossesse. / In this thesis, we aimed to evaluate the impact of selected environmental compounds on female fecundity as measured by time to pregnancy (TTP). This research was conducted in the framework of the Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals (MIREC) study, a pregnancy cohort of 2001 women recruited during the first trimester of pregnancy in ten cities across Canada between 2008 and 2011. Questionnaire data and biological samples were analyzed to assess the effect of two groups of compounds: persistent [perfluorinated compounds - perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS)-] and nonpersistent chemicals (Bisphenol A, Triclosan, and phthalates). In addition, this thesis aimed to examine the potential of the second to fourth finger digit ratio (2D:4D) as a sensitive-endocrine endpoint. To this end, anthropometric measurements were obtained in about 800 children and their mothers during the Early Childhood Biomonitoring and Neurodevelopment Study (MIREC-CD Plus), a MIREC follow-up conducted to measure growth and development up to age five. Overall, the results of this thesis have contributed to the evidence regarding the potential adverse effect of several environmental contaminants (ECs) on female fecundity as measured by TTP. In the first article, we found that PFOA and PFHxS were associated with diminished fecundity, supporting previous evidence that suggested a similar effect. In the second article, we assessed for the first time the effect of Triclosan on TTP, presenting evidence of delayed fecundity at the highest quartile of exposure. In addition, our findings agreed with those of the only study that has assessed the effect of Bisphenol A on female fecundity, and which showed no effect. Finally, we found some indication that female exposure to phthalates might be associated with a shorter TTP, although this finding did not reach statistical significance. With regard to the potential of the digit length ratio (2D:4D) as an endocrine-sensitive endpoint in women, our data do not support a strong association between 2D:4D and TTP. In children, we did not find an adverse impact of maternal smoking during pregnancy on children’s 2D:4D. Thus, our data do not support evidence to suggest that 2D:4D could be used as a potential reproductive endocrine-sensitive endpoint in women as measured by TTP, and in their offspring as measured by exposure to maternal smoking during the first trimester of pregnancy.

Orientador: Francisco Manoel de Souza Braga / Banca: Leandro Müller Gomiero / Banca: Lilian Casatti / Banca: Mauricio Cetra / Banca: Lucia Ap. de Fatima Mateus / Resumo: O objetivo geral do presente estudo foi analisar a biologia e o ciclo de vida de Astyanax cf. scabripinnis paranae no ribeirão Grande, um riacho de cabeceira localizado no Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar (PESM), Núcleo Santa Virgínia, SP. Os exemplares foram coletados mensalmente de janeiro a dezembro em 2004 e 2006, utilizando-se redes de espera, redinha de mão e covo. Foram coletados dados de temperatura da água, oxigênio dissolvido e pH. Dados de pluviosidade, umidade relativa e temperatura do ar foram obtidos junto à Estação Meteorológica do PESM. Os peixes foram fixados em formalina a 10% e conservados em álcool 70%. No laboratório foram mensurados quanto ao comprimento total e padrão, peso e registrados os graus de repleção estomacal, de gordura acumulada, o sexo e os estádios de maturação gonadal. As correlações entre as variáveis ambientais e os meses de coletas foram verificadas por uma análise de componentes principais, que indicou uma separação entre períodos mais chuvosos (outubro a abril) e menos chuvosos (maio a setembro). A dieta foi analisada pelo grau de preferência alimentar. Diferenças no consumo de itens autóctones e alóctones e possíveis mudanças ontogenéticas ao longo do desenvolvimento da espécie foram verificadas por uma análise de correspondência. Para o estudo da reprodução foram analisadas as variações nos estádios de maturação, relação gonadossomática, grau de gordura acumulada, condição corporal, fecundidade e tipo de desova. O comprimento médio de primeira maturação gonadal foi estimado pelo ajuste não-linear e a condição corporal foi avaliada por modelos de análise de covariância. A fecundidade foi estimada pelo método volumétrico e relacionada ao comprimento padrão, ao peso total, ao peso das gônadas e à relação gonadossomática. No estudo do crescimento, a separação das coortes... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The present study aimed to analyze the biology and ecology of Astyanax cf. scabripinnis paranae in the Ribeirão Grande, a headwater stream located in the Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar (PESM), Núcleo Santa Virgínia, SP. The fishes were sampled monthly from January to December in 2004 and 2006, using gillnets, sieves and funnel traps. Temperature, dissolved oxygen and pH of the water were measured. Pluviometric data, relative humidity and temperature of the air were obtained in the Meteorological Station of PESM. The fishes were fixed in 10% formalin and conserved in 70% alcohol. In the laboratory they were measured as for the total and standard length, weighed and registered the degrees of stomach repletion, of accumulated fat, the sex and the stadiums of gonad maturation. The correlation structure among the environmental variables measured in the sampling collections was verified by a principal components analysis (PCA), which indicated a separation among rainier (October to April) and the less rainy periods (May to September). Differences in the consumption of autochthonous and allochthonous items and possible ontogenetic changes along the specimens development were verified by a correspondence analysis (CA). For the study of the reproduction the variations were analyzed at the maturation stadiums, gonadossomatic relationship, degrees of accumulated fat, corporal condition, fecundity and spawning type. The mean length of first gonad maturation was assessed by a no-linear adjustment. The corporal condition was evaluated by analysis of covariance. The fecundity was estimate by the volumetric method and related to the standard length, to the total weight, to the gonad weight and to the gonadossomatic relationship. In the study of the fish growth, the cohorts' separation and their mean lengths were obtained using the package "MIXDIST" and the Bhattacharya method... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

Knowledge of offspring production (recruitment) is fundamental to understanding and forecasting the dynamics of a population. In this thesis, I focus on two demographic characteristics of fish stocks that are important to recruitment: population density and age structure. First, populations produce more recruits at low density, but quantifying this response has proven difficult. Using data from hundreds of populations of walleye (Sander vitreus), an economically important freshwater fish, I demonstrate that the growing-degree-day metric (a temperature index) is better than age at explaining variation in density-dependent growth and maturity both within and among populations. I then incorporate multi-lake measures of density-dependent life history change into a temperature-based biphasic model of growth and reproduction to predict sustainable rates of mortality for walleye throughout most of their range. Second, the age (or size) structure of a population may also affect recruitment because of positive effects of maternal age on offspring production and survival; however, evidence for these ‘maternal influences’ on recruitment is limited. Using both an analytical model and a meta-analysis of stock-recruitment data from 25 species of exploited marine fish, I show that (i) maximum reproductive rate increased with the mean age of adults in a population, and (ii) the importance of age structure increased with a species’ longevity. I then demonstrate a similar effect of maternal influences on reproductive rate in a detailed study of Lake Erie walleye. By highlighting the importance of fisheries-induced demographic change to recruitment, this thesis provides insight into past and present failures. However, it also demonstrates clearly the benefits of proactive management strategies that (i) identify and respect the limits of exploitation, (ii) protect from exploitation reproductively valuable individuals—principles that apply generally to any freshwater, marine, or terrestrial species that is of recreational, commercial, or conservation value.

Knowledge of offspring production (recruitment) is fundamental to understanding and forecasting the dynamics of a population. In this thesis, I focus on two demographic characteristics of fish stocks that are important to recruitment: population density and age structure. First, populations produce more recruits at low density, but quantifying this response has proven difficult. Using data from hundreds of populations of walleye (Sander vitreus), an economically important freshwater fish, I demonstrate that the growing-degree-day metric (a temperature index) is better than age at explaining variation in density-dependent growth and maturity both within and among populations. I then incorporate multi-lake measures of density-dependent life history change into a temperature-based biphasic model of growth and reproduction to predict sustainable rates of mortality for walleye throughout most of their range. Second, the age (or size) structure of a population may also affect recruitment because of positive effects of maternal age on offspring production and survival; however, evidence for these ‘maternal influences’ on recruitment is limited. Using both an analytical model and a meta-analysis of stock-recruitment data from 25 species of exploited marine fish, I show that (i) maximum reproductive rate increased with the mean age of adults in a population, and (ii) the importance of age structure increased with a species’ longevity. I then demonstrate a similar effect of maternal influences on reproductive rate in a detailed study of Lake Erie walleye. By highlighting the importance of fisheries-induced demographic change to recruitment, this thesis provides insight into past and present failures. However, it also demonstrates clearly the benefits of proactive management strategies that (i) identify and respect the limits of exploitation, (ii) protect from exploitation reproductively valuable individuals—principles that apply generally to any freshwater, marine, or terrestrial species that is of recreational, commercial, or conservation value.

Orientador: Marta Maria do Amaral Azevedo / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciencias Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T21:52:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Madeira_SofiaPereira_M.pdf: 2168593 bytes, checksum: 4a76523c58b24d8bae75cae14d84b19f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: Os povos indígenas no Brasil e na América Latina estão em processo de crescimento populacional, apesar das previsões pessimistas que apontavam seu desaparecimento. Nas últimas décadas, a população indígena brasileira tem crescido, em média, 3,5% ao ano, mais que o dobro da média nacional, o que se deve ao regime de elevada fecundidade e moderada mortalidade. Os povos guarani também vivenciam esse processo de "recuperação demográfica", entre os quais é possível observar uma estrutura sócio-cultural que sustenta um comportamento reprodutivo específico, tendo em vista que estes povos têm como base de sua organização social, econômica e política a formação de famílias extensas, isto é, grupos macro familiares que detêm formas de organização da ocupação sócio-espacial no interior dos territórios (tekoha) segundo relações de parentesco e afinidade. A constituição de uma prole numerosa configura um regime de alta fecundidade, fator preponderante na manutenção cultural e numérica dos povos guarani, o que nos levou a investigar os fatores sociocosmológicos, culturais e históricos explicativos deste perfil - em diálogo com uma importante bibliografia. Assim, a fim de conhecer a relação entre a dinâmica populacional e a cultura guarani, procuramos descrever e analisar o perfil demográfico dos Guarani nas regiões Sul e Sudeste do Brasil e estimar a paridade de suas mulheres em idade reprodutiva, procurando compreender demográfica e antropologicamente o comportamento desta população em comparação com o contingente autodeclarado indígena nos censos brasileiros de 1991 e 2000 e ainda com os resultados encontrados entre outros povos indígenas no Brasil. Desse modo, foi possível traçar significativas semelhanças entre o comportamento demográfico guarani nas regiões Sul e Sudeste do país e aquele encontrado entre povos e indivíduos com filiação étnica específica / Abstract: The indigenous people in Brazil and Latin America are in a population growth process, in spite of pessimists' forecasts which indicated their disappearance. In the last decades, the native Brazilian population has grown, in mean, 3.5% per year, more than the double the national mean, which is due to the high fecundity regimen and moderate mortality. The Guarani people also experiences this process of "demographic recovery", in which it is possible to observe a socialcultural structure that sustains the specific reproductive behaviour, considering that this people has as their basis of social, economic and politic organization the formation of extended families, i.e. macro familiar groups which organise the social-spatial occupation in the interior of the territories (tekoha) according to family relationship and affinity. The composition of the numerous offspring configure a high fecundity regimen, dominant factor in the numeric and cultural maintenance of Guarani people, which led us to investigate the socio-cosmological, cultural and historic factors which can explain this profile - in dialogue with lengthy bibliography. Therefore, in order to known the relationship between the population dynamic and Guarani's culture, we pursuit to describe and analyse the demographic profile of the Guarani in the South and Southeast regions of Brazil and to estimate the parity of their women in reproductive age, attempting to understand demographic and anthropologically the behaviour of this population in comparison with the self-declared indigenous contingent of the Brazilian census from 1991 and 2000 and, also, with the results encountered results between other indigenous people of Brazil. Hence, it was possible to draw significant similarities between the demographic behaviour of the Guarani in the South and Southeast region of the country and those found among the people and individuals with specific ethnic filiation / Mestrado / Mestre em Demografia